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What I Learned This Week on the River - Episode #4

I must admit I learned nothing ON THE RIVER this week. Not because I am so smart, but because I was not able to GET OUT ON THE RIVER this week. I am not bitter about it, but I do hate taxes, and let's leave it at that. To make matters worse I heard two different reports from my home water this week and one said he "caught the most fish in a day he has ever caught on that river" and the other one said he "actually got tired of catching fish." So it sounds like I really did miss out.

But in my conversations with other fly fishers this week, I was reminded of a little tip I will pass along here in lieu of the usual tip from an actual trip on the water. This little reminder was mentioned when I was discussing fussy trout and overlapping hatches and ways to figure out what a fish is really eating, with a friend. As the weather warms up we are going to start seeing more and more types of insects hatching through the day, and this issue of overlapping hatches is more and more likely to occur. This may be more of a Summer time issue, but it can arise in the spring as well. My friend reminded me of a little tip I have used, and it has worked for me in the past. It is simply this: carry a small pair of binoculars with you on the water.

It is simple, but it does help close the gap and bring you up close and personal to a rising fish, and you really can often pick out what bugs a fish is eating without crowding it. It won't always work, if the fish is taking emergers just under the surface it is still going to be tough to see, but if nothing else it's nice to have a pair of binoculars on hand when that nice mule deer wades into the river a couple hundred yards upstream.

So that's all for this week and hopefully next week the only problem I will have will be typing up Episode #5 because my arms are so tired from landing fish!